Independent filmmaker Zachary Borst of Merrick has one item on his Super Bowl wish list checked off and now the “die hard” Giants fan is just waiting on Big Blue to advance to the Super Bowl before he really starts celebrating.
Borst, 26, was named the winner of Chevrolet’s Route 66 Super Bowl ad contest, and the freelance filmmaker from Long Island will have his own commercial air live during the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
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“When I found out the news I almost had a heart attack…it’s almost indescribable, my head was spinning for quite some time,” Borst said over the phone after just finishing up a press conference with the cast and crew of his 30-second commercial.
Borst is no amateur when it comes film contest. He said he’s won seven or eight similar contests before, but nothing like this. His “Happy Grad” ad will air live in front of millions of viewers during the NFL’s title game—a dream come true, he said.
The commercial was shot outside a friend’s house and it features comedian and SiriusXM radio personality, Brett Siddell, who thinks his parents bought him a new car for graduation, and he completely blows his top, letting out a high-pitched scream as his fellow graduates celebrate around him.
Borst got the idea after thinking of something “meaningful” that happened to him, he said. When he graduated from high school, Borst said his dad bought him a used car which “meant the world” to him.
“I’m more grateful for that used car than anything,” he said. And after “hundreds of hours” of work, he beat out 35 other finalists for the Super Bowl spot and $25,000.
Last year, an estimated 111 million people gathered around TV sets to watch the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl, making it the most watched program in television history. In second place is the 2010 Super Bowl.
If the Giants are victorious on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl, Borst joked that paramedics will have to be “ready,” because the excitement might just be too much to handle.
“The opportunity is just unfathomable,” he said.
“He’s a mastermind, honestly,” said Siddell, who called winning the competition a “break through.”
Borst credited his cast for making this all happen.
“The talent makes it come to life,” he said.
